The Official Charts Company has revealed the country’s best-selling singles, albums and physical releases of 2022. Harry Styles and Ed Sheeran dominated the singles chart, whilst Styles also topped the albums chart with his third studio album, ‘Harry’s House’.
The most popular singles were all released by British artists, with Styles’ ‘As It Was’ claiming the top spot. Sheeran’s ‘Bad Habits’ and Fireboy DML and Sheeran’s collaboration ‘Peru’ followed, with Cat Burns’ ‘Go’, Sheeran’s ‘Shivers’ and Kate Bush’s ‘Running Up That Hill’ also appearing in the top 10. Notably, Styles’ ‘As It Was’ and LF System’s ‘Afraid To Feel’ were the only songs actually released in 2022.
The UK recorded music consumption jumped from 147 billion audio streams in 2021 to 159 billion in 2022, with more than three billion streams generated each week on average. Although digital downloads were down by 18.9 percent from 2021, vinyl sales grew for the 15th year in a row, reaching a high of 5.5 million units. Taylor Swift’s ‘Midnights’ was the best-selling vinyl of 2022, with ‘Harry’s House’ second.
Cassette sales also grew 5.2 per cent for a total of 195,000 units, with Arctic Monkeys’ ‘The Car’ the best-selling cassette album of the year.
The full lists read:
The UK’s 10 most popular singles of 2022:
1. Harry Styles – ‘As It Was’
2. Ed Sheeran – ‘Bad Habits’
3. Fireboy DML and Ed Sheeran – ‘Peru’
4. Cat Burns – ‘Go’
5. Ed Sheeran – ‘Shivers’
6. Kate Bush – ‘Running Up That Hill’
7. Glass Animals – ‘Heat Waves’
8. Lost Frequencies and Calum Scott – ‘Where Are You Now’
9. LF System – ‘Afraid to Feel’
10. Sam Fender – ‘Seventeen Going Under’
The UK’s Top 10 most popular albums of 2022:
1. Harry Styles – ‘Harry’s House’
2. Ed Sheeran – ‘=’
3. Taylor Swift – ‘Midnights’
4. The Weeknd – ‘The Highlights’
5. Olivia Rodrigo – ‘Sour’
6. Eminem – ‘Curtain Call: The Hits’
7. Elton John – ‘Diamonds’
8. Fleetwood Mac – ’50 Years – Don’t Stop’
9. Little Mix – ‘Between Us’
10. Abba – ‘Gold – Greatest Hits’
